The association of topotecan and cytarabine in the treatment of secondary or relapsed acute myeloid leukemia.

A topotecan/cytarabine combination has been reported to be effective in patients with myelodysplastic syndromes. We report our experience with this regimen in 12 patients with relapsed or secondary acute myeloid leukemia. Extra-hematologic toxicity was low, but the response to the treatment was very poor. In our opinion, this association is not a treatment option for these patients, but the addition of other agents could improve this results.